


What's mine is yours

by Domino88



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:22:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28002357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Domino88/pseuds/Domino88
Summary: Seto Kaiba is ready to do anything to get his hands on all Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards in the world. Getting married to get a card? He’d done worse.
Relationships: Kaiba Seto/Reader
Comments: 14
Kudos: 70





	1. A ticket out of hell

You were 14 when your parents died in a car accident. The only thing you inherited from them was a single card: the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Immediately you felt a strong connection to the card. Of course you knew what it was worth, but what fascinated you was more than that, it was… inexplicable. That card felt like a part of you.

Unfortunately, you were placed in a foster home where they only cared about the value of the card. They only kept you in hope to get rich, and they kept pressuring you into selling the card. You did not want to part with the card, and especially not for them. The way they treated you was awful, and sometimes you wondered if inheriting that card wasn’t more of a curse than a gift. For two years, you endured it, unable to escape their legal custody. Until that day.

When you opened the door that day, you did not expect to see a young man surrounded by two tall bodyguards. The coldness in his dark blue eyes made you shiver. He didn’t waste any time in pleasantries and went straight to the point.

“I’m here for the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Do you know who I am?”

You immediately knew. You’d heard rumors about a card collector going around the world to get all the Blue-Eyes cards. Some bad rumors. The kind of rumors where people die. You expected him to show up sooner or later. And you were prepared for this. That Blue-Eyes card would be your ticket out of this hell.

“You’re… Mr. Kaiba. Seto Kaiba.”

“Excellent, that will save us some time. Since you know who I am, you also know what I want. Name your price.”

“I… am not selling it.”

“Then perhaps you’ll reconsider once my bodyguards tell you what happened to the last guy who said that. This can go smoothly, or… I am used to dealing with the recalcitrant.”

He snapped his fingers and the two bodyguards moved one foot forward.

“Wait! I… I never said I will not give it to you. Maybe you’ll even be interested by my offer. I am willing to give it to you… for free. There’s only one condition.”

“Condition?”

“The card has to stay in my family.”

“…I don’t understand what you are suggesting. How can it be mine if it stays in your family? You’re being incoherent.”

“There is a way. You become part of my family.”

“What?”

“Let’s get married.”

It was slightly less romantic than you’d imagined proposing to someone would be. All you cared about was getting out of this dump and gaining your freedom. You knew this guy was obsessed, he wanted the card so badly, as badly as you wanted to be free. Clearly he did not expect any of this, and if he was used to dealing with the recalcitrant, as he said, he was totally lost as to what to do with surprise proposals. His face was livid and he had a nervous laugh.

“Nonsense! Why would I ever agree to something like that!?”

“You want the card.”

“What if I refuse?”

“Then I tear the card in half.”

“Impossible! You’d be left with nothing. That threat is empty.”

“Yeah, you’re right, I’d be left with nothing. That’s not much less of what I already have. But at least I’d have the immense satisfaction of knowing that you do not possess all the Blue-Eyes cards, thanks to me. You can have up to three cards in your deck. Would you rather be known for the guy with two Blues-Eyes in his deck? Or three?”

“There are four Blue-Eyes in the world. I have other options.”

“Yet you are here for mine.”

“… … …You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me.”

He pondered your words, irritated. Getting married to get a card? He’d done worse. Getting a Blue-Eyes for free, in exchange of having a wife that he did not have to really care about, seemed like a pretty good deal. Surely it was less bothersome than having the mafia kill someone again.

“Meet me at the Kaiba Corporation office tomorrow. We’ll discuss terms.”

He turned around, followed by his guards. You watched him walk away, with a satisfied smirk on your face. Everything went according to plan. You wondered for a second if you were not shooting yourself in the foot. Escaping one dysfunctional family to enter a dysfunctional marriage? That Seto Kaiba was obviously not husband material. Well you did not have any expectations, and at least you’d gain some freedom and independence. And his annoyed face was kinda cute.

The next day, you presented yourself to the Kaiba Corporation headquarters, accompanied by a lawyer. You made your way to the office of the president, where Seto was waiting for you with his lawyer too. After what seemed like a never-ending technical legal gibberish discussion, it was agreed that if anything suspicious was to happen to you, the Blue-Eyes would have to be destroyed. Also, if you were to divorce, the Blue-Eyes would stay Seto’s propriety and you would not get anything in return. Once everything was sorted out, Seto took out a form from his desk, and filled half of it with his information. He then slipped it toward you, and you completed the form. You both signed it, and the lawyers validated the whole thing.

“Congratulations, you are now husband and wife”, said one of them.

You almost burst out laughing at the ridicule of the situation. Married! You were finally free from your toxic foster home, and felt so relieved and excited that you almost would have embraced your new husband. However, he quickly brought you back down to earth with his annoyed glance, that you found quite attractive. He reached his hand out, but that was not to take yours into his.

“The card?”

You smiled. You took the Blue-Eyes out of your purse and looked at it. You could sense your pulse into your fingers, as if the card itself had a pulse, as if you were holding a piece of your heart still beating. You walked up to Seto and gently put the card into his hand while looking him in the eyes.

“What’s mine is yours, hubby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really know where I am going with this. More chapters to come! Please leave Kudos and comments if you like :)


	2. Mrs. Kaiba

You half-expected your new husband to make your life a living hell, in order to force you into divorce, but he didn’t even bother according you that much attention. You barely exchanged any word on the road back home.

You knew Kaiba Corporation was a big company, but you had not fully understood that Seto Kaiba was actually the president of the company, until you arrived at the Kaiba manor. This place was huge, and you were not prepared for the line of maids and valets awaiting your arrival in the hallway. He introduced you to the staff with as little words as possible, and they did not seem to be somewhat surprised by the news. Apparently this was not the craziest thing they had to deal with in this mansion. Seto exchanged a few words with his hideous creepy butler, and you could only catch the phrase “Daimon, no funny games with her.” Considering the stories you’d heard, you interpreted that phrase as a “Don’t poison her food”, and wondered if you should feel relieved. As Seto walked away without a look, the creepy butler walked toward you and bowed.

“Please follow me to your room, Mrs. Kaiba.”

You couldn’t help but blush at the “Mrs.”, and followed the butler. It appeared Seto had decided to put you as far as possible from his sight, in the hope of forgetting you actually existed. Your room was so remote in that huge mansion, that you wondered if you’d get lost trying to get to the dining room. Despite his eerie looks, the butler was quite professional and treated you with every regard before leaving you alone in your room. You sighed. What were you getting yourself into?

Later that day, the door to your room swinged open violently, and an angry-looking kid stormed in. He stopped two feet apart from you and eyed you from head to toe. Without any warning, he burst into a furious rant.

“Don’t get too comfy in here! I know what you’re up to. If you think you can just drop over and take advantage of my big brother, you’re heavily mistaken! I won’t allow a gold-digger like you anywhere near Seto. Watch your back!”

And he stormed off, leaving you absolutely clueless about what just happened. Guess you just met your brother-in-law. Huh.

That night, neither Kaiba brother expected to find you sitting at the dining table, waiting for them for a family meal. The look on their faces was hilarious. Tension was palpable during dinner, and although nothing was said, the message was clear. If they thought they could ignore or bully you, they were quite wrong.

If they wanted to play that game, you were more than up for it.

The next day, you decided to move your room next to Seto’s. The ruckus caught his attention and he opened his door, with that everlasting bothered look on his face.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I am the mistress of this house. I can decide where my room is gonna be. I chose this one, because I want to be closer to my husband… for obvious reasons”, you added with a wink, just to toy with him.

It did not amuse him at all. He squinted at you.

“Tch… do what you want.”

And he slammed his door. You smiled. Another point for you.

The next few weeks went by better than you expected. At first, the staff didn’t pay much attention to you, but you were unpretentious and sympathetic, and they rapidly grew fond of you. You spent most of your days with them, learning about and helping with the chores of the manor. You especially went along well with Mokuba’s governess, a young and very kind lady. The way she spoke of the household made it clear she was very loyal and affectionate of the Kaiba brothers, and it gave you hope to find some good in all of this. Dinner with the Kaibas became a routine, and even though it was mostly silent, they were not as antipathic as they were at first. It became clear that Mokuba was a brat desperate for his brother’s attention, and that Seto was a selfish arrogant man. He seemed quite busy with whatever project he was working on, and it was absolutely forbidden to disturb him while he was working. Not that you would knock on his door on purpose anyway.

One night, you could not fall asleep, and decided to get a late snack from the kitchen. On your way back to your room, you heard someone talking on the phone with a low voice, behind closed doors, and it aroused your curiosity. You put your ear on the door, just enough to eavesdrop on that mysterious conversation. You recognized the voice of one of the bodyguards, Saruwatari. You didn’t like this guy, he always felt a bit odd and secretive, and this late-night phone call did not improve your opinion. You caught only a few words.

“Yes. Yes, everything is going well. I’ll send in my monthly report soon, Mr. Crocketts. Alright then.”

He hanged the phone and you briskly and furtively walked away. What kind of intrigue was going on here? Who was this Mr. Crocketts? Lost in your thoughts, you stopped in front of your room and pondered on what you’d just heard. No matter how you looked at it, something bad was on. A spy? A traitor? You had to tell someone about it. You had to tell… Seto. You took a deep and long breath, and knocked on his door. You didn’t wait for an answer, because you knew none would come. Since there was light coming from under the door, you pushed it gently and entered Seto’s room. He was sitting at his desk. He lifted his head and gave you that irritated look. You smiled interiorly. You knew he did that to intimidate you, but since you thought it was cute, it had the complete opposite effect.

“What do you want?”

“Good evening you too, dear husband”, you couldn’t help but say sarcastically. You continued on a more serious tone. “I… I actually have something important to tell you. I think so. I came across this earlier and—"

“I don’t care about what you have to tell me. Stop wasting my time and go back to your room.”

“But… Listen, something’s going on and you should know… as your wife, it’s my duty to—”

“Tch! Don’t make me laugh! As my wife?! Don’t be ridiculous! We both know this is just an arrangement. A convenient inconvenience! Shut up with that already!”

It was the first time he’d shouted angrily at you, and if the annoyed glance amused you, the angry voice gave you cold feet. Seeing that he was gaining the upper hand, he got up, grasped your wrist with an iron grip, and threw you on his bed, before crouching on top of you.

“If you want to fulfill your duty as a wife so badly, then you should have no problems with this…”

You were trembling in shock. Was he being serious?! Your heart was racing and your mind was blank, but you did not let him take you down. You wrapped your legs around his hips and squeezed, and it was his turn to give a surprised look. You locked his eyes on his and answered with an equally angry shout.

“Are you trying to scare me? Well that won’t work! I am never going back to my old life, and I’m ready to do anything to make sure of that. So if you want to use me for your pleasure, then, by all means, go ahead! But don’t underestimate my will to survive.”

The look in his eyes changed and seemed to soften a bit. He finally sighed and let go of you. He sat back at his desk and continued his work without looking at you.

“Get out”, he simply said.

You complied without a word, trying to look in control, ignoring your quivering legs, fighting the tears in your eyes. All that made you completely forget about the reason you came in in the first place. He had won this one, and had made you feel terribly weak for a second. Fighting head-to-head with Seto Kaiba was quite an unnerving task.

It was hard to fall asleep that night, and your sleep was shallow. In the middle of the night, you were awoken by a scream coming from Seto’s room. Immediately, you were reminded about that strange phone call and you had a bad feeling about this. Did a traitor sneak into Seto’s room and harmed him? You rushed into his room without hesitation, only to find him half seated in his bed, panting. His eyes were mad, lost, scared. He looked at you without seeing you, still caught in his nightmare. A nightmare. It was just a bad dream. You felt relieved, but still concerned, seeing him so terrified. It must have been a terrible nightmare. You sat on the bed and took his hand into yours, to calm him down. You stayed like that for a couple of minutes, until he finally came back to reality and recovered his breath. When he finally realized that you were there, he hastily took his hand out of yours and looked away, embarrassed. You murmured a “Good night” before leaving silently, leaving him go back to sleep.

You barely slept at all that night. Thinking about that vulnerable look on Seto’s face made your stomach ache. That glimpse of his true face made you wonder about what could have happened to him in his past, and for the first time, you wanted to know more about your husband. You thought that you would have time for this – and for talking about the weird phone call – soon enough.

Alas, that faithful day came before you could take action. The inauguration day of Seto’s big project. Death-T.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be trying to be as faithful as possible to the manga. It might take a while before anything happens (romantically), as I have to build some sort of relationship, but... I'll try not to make it cheesy, promise. More chapters to come!


	3. Falling

That morning, when you got up, Seto was already gone. He’d left early for the inauguration of his new theme park, Kaiba Land. You were told that Mokuba had been ill a part of the night, so you decided to go check up on him. Even if he was a brat, he was still just a kid. If he was feeling better, maybe he’d accompany you to the Kaiba Land event, and maybe, just maybe, you could plant some relationship seeds with him. Or at least call a truce for the day.

You knocked on his door, and the governess answered. You could see Mokuba in the background getting ready and he looked fine, so you relaxed a bit, relieved that his sickness had not been something serious. (Little did you know.) He saw you, and you waved your hand.

“Hey, Mokuba. Your brother is already gone. Care to join me on my way to Kaiba Land? I’m kinda excited to see all of this.”

And you genuinely were. You didn’t know much about Seto, but you knew he’d been working extra hours on this, so it must have been really important to him. It was a great opportunity to get to know him better. After all these weeks in the company of the Kaiba brothers, you were starting to think that your place here wasn’t all bad. They still acted cold with you, but they too had grown accustomed to your presence. You were stuck with each other anyway so might as well make some effort to make things work. Mokuba seemed surprised at your invitation but was even more surprised to learn that his brother had taken off.

“My brother has already left?! But I’m supposed to be part of the event too! Get the car ready, we have to go, fast!”

And within five minutes, you were sitting in the car with Mokuba, en route to Kaiba Land. You asked him about today’s event.

“It’s the grand opening of our attraction park! Seto’s always wanted to build a place where kids could come and play games, and Kaiba Land is the first step to that dream! For the inauguration, everything is free for three days!”

You were pleasantly shocked. You never imagined Seto would be the kind of person to care about children. Then again, he was the president of a gaming corporation, so it made sense…

“You and your brother like playing games?”

“Of course! We used to play all the time! My brother is the best at games!”, Mokuba said with a cheerful voice. “He’s never lost! Well… except one time… but that will all be settled with today’s special event… he he…”

There was a quick dark shift in Mokuba’s tone right there. The way he said that last sentence gave you an uncomfortable feeling… You waved that uneasiness away as you approached the building. There were so many people! You got out of the car.

“I’m going to get ready for my part in the main event! Be sure to grab a good seat on the top floor!”, Mokuba said before rushing away.

You were left alone to discover Kaiba Land. It was an amazing place! An in-door attraction park, filled with games, rollercoasters, and much more. You didn’t waste too much time looking around though, because you didn’t want to miss that special event Mokuba was talking about. You found your way to the top floor, and got a seat with a good view on the strange glass box, the battle box, standing in the middle of the showground. After a few moments, a door opened, and Seto entered the place. There was a cheerful uproar, everybody chanting Kaiba’s name with enthusiasm. Wow, he was really popular with the kids. You smiled, looking at your husband, thinking you had misjudged him.

You were NOT ready for what was going to happen during the next few hours.

It started with a duel with an old man in the battle box. You were at first excited to see Seto duel and using your Blue-Eyes White Dragon card for the first time. But it quickly became clear that something was odd in this duel. It was as if you could feel the Blue-Eyes cry. The card was being used with hatred. Your heart sank. When the old man lost, Seto left him in the battle box without consideration, with terrifying holograms. The poor man was going to lose his mind. You felt tears rolling down your cheeks.

But that wasn’t all. Three participants agreed to try the challenge of the Death-T to save that grandpa. The Death theme park. You watched in horror as the contestants cleared the first three levels of Death-T with great pain. And doing this dreadful event in front of an audience made it even worse. You could not understand why people were cheering. Couldn’t they see that everything going on here was horrifying? Did they think it was all staged for the purpose of entertainment? You certainly knew it wasn’t fake.

The worst was yet to come. After losing a participant, that you assumed just died, the main contestant – Yugi – made his way to the fourth level. It was a game against Mokuba. He managed to beat Mokuba, and what happened then made you sick. Seto inflicted the same penalty game to his younger brother than he did to the old man. You couldn’t take this anymore. You had married the devil.

Fortunately, Yugi saved Mokuba from the battle box, and made his way to the last level, where he had to face Seto. You left your seat and ran up to Mokuba. Poor kid. Without thinking about it, you hugged him in your arms.

“Mokuba… Mokuba… what the hell is going on here… are you ok?”

To your surprised, he hugged you back. He must have really felt let down by his big brother, whom he looked up to so much. He looked at you and seemed to make a decision.

“I’m going to save Yugi’s friend. Come with me.”

You followed him to the level three, where blocks were falling from the ceiling. While he entered the command to stop the game, you went to unlock the door. This guy had managed to survive that long, it was quite impressive. The three of you then made your way back to the top floor.

You arrived just in time for the end of the duel. Yugi destroyed the three Blue-Eyes, and inflicted a penalty game to Seto. You didn’t understand what exactly happened there, but it seemed to put Seto into a trance state. The Death-T was over. Mokuba then talked a bit about Seto’s past, and the reasons that had made him so full of hatred and anger. When Yugi answered that Seto would come back once his soul was reconstructed, it somehow appeased a part of you.

The next weeks and months went by at the manor, with Seto in a coma. It was a bizarre thing that it somehow brought you and Mokuba together. He really opened up to you, and in the end, you found out he was a really good kid. You played games together most of the time. The way he talked about his brother relieved you. He was not angry at his brother, and kept telling you how good a person he actually was, before everything changed after their stepfather’s death. You started to hope that you’d get to meet that Seto one day.

The doctor came every week for check-up. You personally took care of Seto: you fed him, made prescribed daily exercises to keep his body functional, and even bathed him. It was weird that you’d get so intimate with your husband only once he was in a coma. But you couldn’t bare to let someone else do it; you knew he would find it extremely humiliating. You also had another reason for taking care of him yourself: you didn’t know who to trust. You had not forgotten that there might be a traitor within the vicinity. If someone wanted to do harm to Seto, now was the perfect opportunity, so you had to protect him. You started to sleep in his room, in his bed, while he was sitting in his wheelchair, and stayed with him almost 24/7. You had not told any of this to Mokuba, you didn’t want to worry him. He had enough to think about with everything that was happening with Kaiba Corporation. Even though the administration was left to the five board directors, Seto’s absence had a big impact, and Mokuba was doing his best taking care of that.

It’d been almost six months now. One day, you were alone with Seto, and were gently washing his face. You missed his annoyed face and acerb repartee. Somehow. Your fingers slowed down on his cheeks, and made their way to his lips. His lips… you blushed. You had never kissed him. He was your husband. You brought your face closer to his. You closed your eyes… but stopped and sighed.

“What kind of pervert am I becoming…”

You shook your head, a bit ashamed of yourself. Suddenly, the door swinged open, and Mokuba’s governess entered the room in panic. She ran to you.

“Mrs.!! It’s terrible… It’s Mr. Mokuba… he’s being abducted… Saruwatari, he…”

“Calm down, what is going on?!”

She pointed out the window. On the lawn, two helicopters were waiting. You saw two men dragging a gagged Mokuba into one of them, and it took off. You saw Saruwatari entering the second helicopter. You knew you had no time to waste. You looked at the governess.

“Please look after Seto for me. I entrust his safety to you.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to rescue Mokuba.”

You rushed down the stairs and ran up to the helicopter. You jumped right inside the cabin, as it was about to take off the ground, under the watch of an overwhelmed Saruwatari. Ignoring his dumbfounded look, you strapped yourself in and smiled at the bodyguard.

“Well done, Saruwatari. Oh, don’t look so surprised! It’s normal that Mr. Crocketts didn’t tell you about me. I was meant to remain covert as long as needed be. It’s hard to build real trust with those brothers.”

Saruwatari looked surprised but he was a good subordinate, and assumed you were a traitor just like he was. You looked out the window, trying to look calm, although your heart was about to explode. You had no idea where that helicopter was taking you. To the same place as Mokuba, hopefully. That lie was going to keep you safe during the ride, but once the helicopter had landed, you would need to come up with something else if you wanted to rescue Mokuba.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for those of you who have never read the manga, it must have been a bit difficult to follow. I feel bad for Seto, I make it seem as if he's more likeable when he is in an actual coma. At least he's not actively ruining the relationship, haha.  
> Seto, sorry >_<''  
> Next stop: Duelist Kingdom! Thanks for reading!


	4. The escape

You managed to avoid anyone’s eyes during the trip by fake sleeping, in order to evade any questions that would expose you. It gave you little time to come up with an elaborate plan; you just hoped really hard that this Mr. Crocketts would not be waiting out the helicopter. If he was there, that would blow your cover right away; if he wasn’t, you could surf on this long enough to locate and rescue your brother-in-law.

A small island finally appeared in the distance, and the helicopter slowed down to land near a castle. The other one had already landed, and you were relieved that you had been taken to the same location as Mokuba. Saruwatari was the first to get off, and you overheard him asking another guy:

“Did you take care of the kid?”

“Yeah, Mr. Crocketts took him right away to his special room.”

You were off to a great start. You got off too.

“Ah! Feels good to be back. Shall we go? I’m starving! Although… I should probably make my report to Mr. Crocketts as soon as possible. Where is he?”

You hoped that sounded right. The other guard eyed you, perplex, but Saruwatari made a nod and it comforted him. Thanks, Saruwatari, stay dumb.

“Mr. Crocketts has taken our guest up to his room, I doubt he’ll be able to see you anytime soon. Perhaps tomorrow.”

Everyone entered the castle, and you followed them slowly. A friggin castle on an island. Prospects for an escape plan were looking bad. You decided that you should spend the least possible time in the company of anyone here; you were at high risk of being discovered. Once inside the castle, you waited for everybody to turn a corner and disappeared furtively in another direction.

You had to keep looking cool, and could not start sprinting in the castle screaming Mokuba’s name. There were probably more guards around the castle, and maybe even cameras. You acted as if you knew what you were doing, and just walked briskly as far as possible from where everyone else had headed. The castle was huge, and there was bound to have unused rooms. Once you thought you were far enough, you entered a random room, and sighed with relief, seeing the dust covering the furniture. No one had been in this room for a while, and you hoped it would remain that way long enough time for you to come up with an actual plan.

It was a dangerous game that you were playing. These guys were armed and serious. If you were discovered, you’d probably end up locked up in a dungeon, or worst, killed. Disposing of bodies on this island should not prove very difficult. You hope that your Kaiba name might save you from being executed, and that you would more likely be chained up for later use. Still, pretty bad.

You were risking your life here, and for what exactly? You wondered. These last months with Mokuba had really changed your feelings. When thinking that someone might be hurting him, you felt rage overflowing your body. He was your family now. And the only family you had left. You vowed to rescue him at any cost.

You waited for the middle of the night before taking action. Surely there would be less moving around in the castle at this hour. The way was clear for a bit of exploration, although you knew you had to lay low. If they had gone to the length of abducting Mokuba, surely they would be guarding him day and night. That meant you had to find where there were still active guards. The guard had said earlier “up to his room”, meaning you should probably start looking the top floors.

Your first night search ended without much. You were not able to locate Mokuba, but that wasn’t lost, because you could get familiar with the castle, and even if you didn’t know where he was, at least you knew where he was not. You went back to your room at day break, and hid in a corner to get some sleep. You had not slept for over 24 hours, and you’d need to be in shape for next night’s search. If you weren’t dead from starving before that.

You opened your eyes when the sun was coming down. Feeling ankylosed from sleeping on the ground, you stretched a bit. Saying “sleeping” was an overstatement; it was more like passing out from tiredness and hunger, but you felt a bit better and ready to search the castle again.

This time, it was easier; you only had two aisles to search, and you immediately found the right place. Two guards were guarding a door; this had to be where Mokuba was being detained. No matter how you looked at it, you could not overcome two trained and armed guys, so you had to think of another way. You had an idea, and had no choice but to wait until morning to set it in motion. You found a quiet place further down the corridor, and waited for your window of opportunity.

It came early morning in the form of a guard pushing a cart carrying a plate serving cover. This had to be the guy bringing Mokuba’s food. Ignoring your own rumbling stomach, hidden in the shadows, you waited for him to be close enough, then you hit him hard in the back of the head with a fire extinguisher. It knocked him out on the spot, and you wondered if maybe you had killed him? You shrugged your shoulders; these guys had it coming. You hid the body (corpse?) in an empty room, and searched him for keys. No gun on this guy. Damn it. Oh well, on to phase two. You proceeded to roll the cart to the room where the guards where standing.

“Good morning, guys. Nothing to report?”

“Who are you?”

“Mr. Crocketts sent me to bring the food to our guest.”

Someday, you’d have to thank this Mr. Crocketts for letting you abuse his name that much. Ignoring their suspicious look, you took out the keys from your pocket and proceeded to unlock the door. Your hands were shaking. Mokuba was on the other side of this door! It finally clicked open. You looked at the guards with a smile.

“This won’t take too long.”

And you entered the room, before closing the door behind you. Mokuba was sitting on the bed, a wary look on his face. When he recognized you, his face fell.

“Don’t tell me… you too…?”, he asked in disbelief.

You didn’t let him time to doubt your presence here. Putting your finger on your lips, you gave him a quick hug and whispered.

“Mokuba, I’m so glad you’re ok. I’m here to help you escape. Hurry, we don’t have much time before someone is on to us. Tie the bed sheets together to make a rope while I unlock the window.”

Mokuba was a smart kid and fast on his feet. He nodded and moved into action, while you tried all keys into the window lock, hoping one of them would work. It didn’t take long before you got it open, and then helped Mokuba with the rope. Someone knocked on the door.

“Hey, is everything alright in there?”

You quickly turned to Mokuba and pressed him.

“Ok, it’s long enough, it’ll have to do. You have to get out, NOW. I’ll keep them busy.”

More knocks on the door, heavier.

“But what about you?”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll figure something out. What’s important is that you’re out of harm way. Now go, go!”

He nodded and started climbing down the wall. You put some furniture in front of the door and put all your weight to hold it in place. They were now trying to break the door down. While holding everything down, you took those last moments of freedom to eat the breakfast plate you had brought inside the room. This stupid plan would at least have had an upper side. Unable to hold them off any longer, the guards finally succeeded in entering the room. You fell on the floor, and it took some time for the guards to process the fact that you were alone in the room. You tried one penultimate lie.

“Ouch! Thanks, guys, the kid knocked me down and escaped through the window. I have to go tell Mr. Crocketts…”

“That won’t be necessary”, said one old man that you’d never seen before. “— I – am Mr. Crocketts. And you are Mrs. Kaiba, I presume?”

You had a wry smile. Well, this excuse was bound to backfire at some point. You stayed silent, as the guards took hold of you.

“Please follow me to a more comfortable room. We’ll have to discuss what to do with the likes of you.”

It’s not as if you had the choice to follow him anyway. The guards pushed you forward and you were taken to an empty room, where they tied you to a chair. You were left there for the rest of the day, under the surveillance of a guard. Were you glad to have eaten that breakfast! You must have dozed off at some point, because you woke up with a start when someone spoke to you. Mr. Crocketts was back, alone with you in the room.

“Wake up, Mrs. Kaiba. I have some good news for you. First, let’s start by saying that you’re in luck: the Big Five want you alive. They say you may be even easier to manipulate than Mokuba, in case they need an official Kaiba to operate the company.”

The Big Five! The board of directors of Kaiba Corp! They were the ones behind all this. They were trying to take over the company while Seto was out of the way!

“Second, you’ll be delighted to know that what you’ve done this morning was all for nothing; we were able to get our hands on Mokuba and take him back to the castle. Only this time, we didn’t take any chance and locked him away in the dungeons.”

That had the effect of a cold shower. Your heart sank. Mokuba was back a prisoner, and now you were, too. Hopelessness flooded your heart.

“Just you wait…”, you murmured.

“Mmh?”

“Just you wait, when Seto comes back… he’s gonna make you regret…”

Crocketts laughed. He got closer to you and slapped you hard in the face with the back of his hand. You could feel blood in your cheek.

“Poor thing”, he said with a cynical smile, “Mr. Kaiba isn’t coming back. He’s a dead vegetable.”

Rage filled your body. You clenched your fists, and spit blood on the ground.

“Seto… Seto… is not DEAD!!!”

You jumped and rammed into a stunned Crocketts, hands still tied to the chair. You both fell on the ground, and the chair broke, allowing you to escape from your ropes. Without losing any second, you threw the remainders of the chair into the window to break it open. You attached one end of the rope to Crocketts leg, took the other end and jumped out the window. If the rope had worked for Mokuba, it would work for you; you only hoped Crocketts would hold long enough for you to get down. It held, and you could hear voices of other guards helping their superior not to fall down the window too. Once close enough to the ground, you jumped down and ran into the forest.

You hid well until the middle of the night, in case guards would be searching the grounds for you. Once it was dark, you decided to go back to the base of the castle. You knew this was another stupid plan. You had just escaped the castle and now you were trying to find a way back in? But what other choice did you have? Mokuba was back in the castle. You looked around in the hope of finding a way in to the dungeons, which should be located in the basement. You were a bit comforted by the fact that you knew they wanted you alive; if you got caught, at least you’d just end up locked up in a dungeon, too. But if you could avoid it and be free of your movements, maybe you could find Mokuba’s cell and get him out of there.

You must have been trying to find a secret passageway for about two hours. It was hard to see anything and you were starting to lose hope. You didn’t even know if such a passage existed. You sighed. You couldn’t give up right now… Suddenly, you felt a cold object poking at your back. Your blood froze as you heard a gun being cocked. You were found; you slowly put your hands up in the air.

“Not a sound. Move slowly.”

Your heart jumped. That familiar voice… no… that was not possible… you turned around slowly, and there he was. Two tears rolled down your cheeks. Your legs almost gave way. There he was.

Seto.

When he recognized your face, he looked a bit surprised and lowered his gun. You didn’t know what to say. Words would not come out. You had been watching over him for six months, unsure if he was ever coming back from his coma state, and now there he was, standing in front of you, alive and well. Your body acted on its own and you threw yourself in his arms, crying from relief.

“Seto… it’s you… it’s really you…”

You then pulled away and slapped his face. He was speechless. You almost screamed at him.

“How dared you use my Blue-Eyes card like that!! I can’t believe this whole Death-T thing! You’re such an idiot! There was a piece of my heart in this card, and I gave it to you, and that’s how you used it! Idiot!”

Now that this was out of your chest, you threw yourself in his arms again.

“I’m so glad you’re back…”

Speechless, he gently pushed you away by taking you by the shoulders. You wiped your eyes hastily.

“Mokuba’s maid told me the essentials. What’s happened here?”

“I was able to get Mokuba out of the castle this morning, but he’s been recaptured. I think he’s being held in the dungeons and I was searching for a way in—”

You were interrupted by Seto, who took your chin between his fingers and turned your head on the side, looking at your swollen cheek. His eyes squinted.

“You’re hurt.”

“Ah yes, that”, you said with a smirk. “I guess Mr. Crocketts wasn’t too happy about me usurping his name to go around the castle.”

“Crocketts, that old man…”, he said while looking up at the castle. “When I see him, I’ll bash his brains in with my suitcase… I’ll teach him not to mess with the Kaiba family.”

You weren’t sure if he was only thinking of Mokuba or if he included you in his family. You couldn’t help but blush a little at his angry face. When was the last time you had seen it? It felt good to feel the rage in his eyes, those eyes that had been staring at the void for so long. For a moment, you found him superb in his wrath. He looked back at you. You shook your head to put your ideas back into place.

“In any case, they probably still have spies at the manor, so undoubtedly they know you’re here. There’s no point in trying to hide, they should be waiting for you”, you said. “You should confront them head on, and while they are distracted with you, I can sneak in the dungeons and free Mokuba. Take care of them, I’ll take care of Mokuba.”

He nodded, and stared at you, pensive.

“Why are you doing this?”, he finally asked. “You don’t owe us anything.”

You looked at him, trying to find an answer to his question. Why, indeed? Because, they were your family. Because you were one of them. Like it or not, this man in front of you was your husband, and you were his wife. He may not like it. But you did. You liked them. You liked him. Maybe it was the relief of seeing him after six months, or the fatigue from the last days, the hunger or the pain, messing with your brain, but at this moment, you liked him.

You pulled closer and gently pressed your lips on his.

You both stared at each other, stunned. Now wasn’t the time for this, you knew it. You cleared your throat and pulled away.

“Let’s go, hurry. I’ll keep looking for an entrance to the dungeons.”

He nodded, regaining composure, and turned around. You watched him walk away toward the main entrance of the castle. It gave you renewed strength to continue your search.

Even if Seto was back, the fight wasn’t over yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, we'll get to see more of Seto in chapters to come :)


	5. Going home

The sun was about to come up, and you were about to give up looking for a clandestine entrance, when you heard a voice coming from a walkie-talkie not far from you. What was a guard doing here, in the middle of the forest, at the base of the castle? Surely, guarding the door to the dungeons. Bingo! You sneaked carefully behind the bushes, just in time to see the guard push a switch concealed behind a rock, which triggered the opening of a hidden door in the wall. The guard disappeared inside, and the door closed behind him.

You waited a bit to see if he was coming out. That was a bit risky to just rush in; maybe there were more guards waiting on the other side. However, after ten minutes, nothing happened, no changing of the guard, no one coming in or out. You walked carefully to the secret switch, pushed it and the door opened before you. The coast was clear. Taking a deep breath, you walk into the dark entrails of the castle.

The walls were at first just carved into the rock, but you soon found a man-made path that led to other similar paths, lit by sparse medieval flame torches. It was a real maze. You walked slowly and carefully, since every sound seemed amplified in these tunnels. There was absolutely no one around, though; you hoped that meant that Seto had succeeded in diverting their attention and keeping them busy. Seto… you touched your lips. What had that been all about? You couldn’t help the faint smile forming on your lips.

But that smile faded when you arrived in front of Mokuba’s cell. You had finally found him! But it was a horrifying sight. The kid was in shackles, sitting motionless in the cell, eyes soulless.

“Mokuba! Mokuba, it’s me… Mokuba! Wake up!”

He didn’t answer back. Had he been drugged? You searched your pockets for something sharp to pick the lock. Nothing… you turned around to search the place for tools but froze. Four guards were standing around you, guns pointed at you, smirks on their faces. It was a trap! They had deliberately left the field open to lure you in and you’d fallen into their ambush. You recognized the guy whom you had almost killed last morning. He got closer.

“Mrs. Kaiba, let me pay you back for our last encounter”, he said with a grin.

Then he hit you with the butt of his gun and everything went black.

You woke up, chained to the wall, in a cell. Mokuba was nowhere in sight. Your head hurt. Your legs hurt. Your arms hurt. Man, you knew getting married to Seto Kaiba would be no picnic, but never really imagined it would be like this. You had no idea how much time had passed while you were knocked out. You heard footsteps coming, and for a moment you had hope, but was disappointed in seeing Crocketts appearing in front of your cell.

“Hello again, Mrs. Kaiba. How is your cheek? And the back of your head? Feeling better?”, he asked with a sardonic smile.

“Oh, hi, Mr. Crocketts. Hey, is that a tooth you are missing?”, you bit back, noticing a bruise on his face. Wow, Seto was really a man of his word.

“Why you little…”

“Crocketts, don’t be so mean with our guest”, said another man behind him, walking into the light.

“Y… yes, master Pegasus.” Crocketts moved aside.

“Hello, nice to meet you!”, said the man to you with a wide smile. “Welcome to my castle.”

The newcomer was a tall man with silver hair, hiding half of his face. Pegasus. His castle? Was he the man behind all of this? You scowled, wary. He laughed and looked at you intensely, and then something weird happened. As if something was piercing through your brain. Pegasus then smiled again.

“Oooh, I see better now why Kaiba-boy insisted so much in using that card. Such a strong fighting spirit! And a maiden’s heart…”

You glared. What was this guy talking about? The itching sensation in your brain disappeared, and somehow left you worn out. Pegasus’s face lit up.

“Well, how wonderful! The whole Kaiba family is now reunited! You’ll each have your own cell, don’t worry. Although maybe you’d like to share your husband’s? Crocketts, where is the elder Kaiba being imprisoned?”

“In another area of the castle, master Pegasus.”

“Oh, no! What a pity. Well, we’ll have time to deal with cell rearrangements later. For now, just make sure this one is treated well. The Big Five insisted on a live Kaiba. I’ll come by tomorrow, once this is all over.” He turned back to you. “Good bye!”

Both of them walked away. You sat in silence, exhausted, despaired. Mokuba was a prisoner. You were a prisoner. And now Seto had been captured, too. Things seemed hopeless. You closed your eyes, and everything went black again.

…

“Hey… hey! Wake up!”

A voice.

“Are you ok?”

You opened your eyes slowly. How much time were you out again? You lifted your head up and looked at the guy in front of your cell, talking to you. You came round and shook your head to see more clearly.

“You… you’re… you’re Yugi’s friend! From that time…”

The guy you had saved from Death-T with Mokuba. What was his name again… Honda, was it? He seemed as surprised as you to find you in a cell.

“What are you doing here?”, you asked.

“I should be the one asking this question!”, he answered, looking at your shackles.

“I came to save Mokuba… he’s being held in a nearby cell… please find him, but be careful, there are guards down here.”

“Yeah, I know… we’re here for Mokuba, too. And Kaiba. Hey, Bakura! Come and help me here”, he said while talking to his friend tagging along, whom you had never seen before. The white-haired young man greeted you and took out a set of keys to open your cell.

“Hi… we’ve encountered some guards too, and were able to get rid of them and steal their keys… here, you are free!”

You thanked him and rubbed your wrists. What were Yugi’s friends doing on Pegasus’s island, why were they looking for Mokuba? Why these guys were helping the Kaibas after what they had done was a mystery, but you didn’t have time to listen to the story. At least now you were three persons looking for the Kaiba brothers, and it gave you courage. You followed them in the tunnels.

It wasn’t long before you found Mokuba’s cell once again. This time, no one was guarding the cell, and your new comrades unlocked the cell without any problem. Mokuba was free, at last! Although he still had a blank look on his face. Honda took the kid on his back.

“Pegasus took his soul… It’s hard to explain. He did the same to Kaiba.”

Your heart squeezed.

“Honda, Bakura, take Mokuba to safety. They said they were keeping Seto in another part of the castle, I have to find him. Thank you, we owe you one.”

You rushed away. Seto had been reconstructing his soul for the last six months, and now it had been taken away? The Kaiba family was complicated enough without all this magic nonsense!

You ran around the dungeons without finding any trace of Seto. Damn it! How big could this place be!? You turned a corner without looking and ran face first into a guard. You two stumbled on the ground, and he took out his gun, recognizing you.

“Geez, how many times do we have to capture you before you stay locked up!?”

He held you at gun point, and you put your arms up in the air. You were getting used to it by now. Looking around for an escape route, you slowly walked backwards, until you bumped into a second guard behind you. Would there ever be an end to this nightmare?! The guard took hold of you. As you were preparing to fight back, the first guard received a transmission on his radio. He made signs to your captor to release you. Confused, he let go of you, and you were just as confused.

“We’ve just received new orders from master Pegasus. It’s over. We have to release all the prisoners. You’re in luck.”

In luck?! Did this guy get a good look at you?! Your whole body ached and you hadn’t sleep nor eaten properly for days now, and… wait… did they say… it’s over?

“Where is Seto?!”

“He is being released, too. Now go and don’t come back.”

You followed them out of the dungeons and out of the castle, where you found Honda and Bakura with their other friends, the same guys you had seen at the Death-T. Yugi. And more importantly, Mokuba was there. Safe and sound. You ran to him.

“Thank god, Mokuba!”

“Have you seen my brother? We’ve been looking…”

“They said he was being freed.”

At this moment, Seto’s figure appeared on top of the stairs of the castle. Mokuba was the first to see him. He ran up to him, and the brothers were finally reunited. You waited as they exchanged some words with Yugi and his friends. Then Seto turned around, looked at you and at his brother.

“Let’s go home.”

Your heart filled. You didn’t have the impression to have been much help on this island after all. But all the trouble you went through had had at least the effect of being acknowledged as a member of their home. You nodded with a small smile, trying not to beam, and followed the Kaiba brothers to the helicopter that would bring you… home.

You had hoped to speak with them a bit on the ride home, but the whole gang of Yugi’s friends tagged along into the helicopter, so it was a bit crowded for private talk. By the time you got home, you were feeling sleepy. A good shower and a real bed, that was all you wanted. You got out of the helicopter once it landed, and said goodbye to everyone.

“Mokuba, I’m sure you have a lot of catching up to do with your brother, I’ll leave the both of you alone for now. I need to eat and pass out in a bed right now. Everyone, thank you for everything’s you’ve done.”

“Do you need us to drop you somewhere on the way?”, Yugi asked.

You looked at them, hesitating, before realizing that none of them actually knew who you were. You looked at Seto, who just looked away, embarrassed. You decided not to make him anymore uncomfortable.

“That’s kind of you, but that won’t be necessary. Goodbye everyone!”

You waved and walked briskly away. But after a few steps, you could hear Mokuba laugh.

“Idiots! She doesn’t need to ride the bus with you guys. She lives here! She is my brother’s wife!”

“His w… WHAT?!”

You didn’t turn around to see the look on their faces and just kept walking faster, red as a beat. You could only hear Seto ordering everyone to get out before he releases the hounds, and Mokuba’s laugh.

Eat, shower, sleep. When you put your head on the pillow, it was as if the bed itself swallowed you into a wonderful dream, where everything was back in its place. That was the best sleep of your life. You were just disturbed by some noise at some point, but you groaned and turned aside, falling back into a deep sleep.

Early morning. You slowly opened your eyes, looking at the ceiling, well-rested. The familiar scent of the sheets, the softness of the pillow; it felt good to be back home. You closed your eyes again to enjoy this feeling a bit more, but you were startled by a soft sound.

“Mmh.”

You opened your eyes and sat up, alarmed that someone might be in your room. But there was no one. No one but Seto. In your bed. Asleep.

Your heart skipped. He wasn’t in your bed. YOU were in his. By force of habit, after sleeping in this room for the last six months, you didn’t pay much attention to it when you collapsed into the familiar bed. He must have found you asleep in his bed and been too tired to do anything about it than try to push you aside. He had only taken off his belt and untucked his shirt, and had fallen asleep on top of the sheets. He must have been worn out, too. His steady breathing was somewhat relaxing. You took this time to take a closer look at his sleeping face, so peaceful. Even in his sleep he was frowning a little, keeping this annoyed look that you liked so much. A small smile formed on your lips. You pushed your luck and moved your hand forward to move his hair bangs aside for a better look… but were abruptly stopped before you could reach his face by the sound of his hoarse voice.

“If you’re awake, then just get out. I’m exhausted”, he said without even opening his eyes.

Your face flushed. How long had he been awake, and did he notice you staring at him so boldly? You softly but hastily got out of bed, gathered your things and left the bedroom, heart beating fast. You leaned against the door, trying to regain composure, trying not to think about the feelings stirring inside your chest. You shook your head and decided to go grab your breakfast. Aah, the underestimated blessing of having meals waiting for you.

You went to the dining room, where Mokuba was already there, devouring plates of eggs and toasts. When he saw you, his face illuminated. Mouth full, he made signs to invite you to sit by his side and grab some food, too. You happily took a bite.

“Did you sleep well?”, he asked between two sips of juice.

The image of Seto sleeping flashed in your head. You ignored it and hid your embarrassment by taking a long sip of coffee, then nodded.

“Yeah, that felt good. I’m glad everything’s back in order.”

“Thanks to you!!”

“Don’t give me too much credit, I barely did anything useful back there… except putting everyone’s safety at risk…”

“That’s not true. It was pretty awesome the way you rescued me from that tower. Sorry we dragged you into this.”

“I dragged myself into this, and I don’t regret it. Ah!... Mokuba, your wrists…”

Two red circles were visible around his wrists, where he had been chained up. You took his arms in your hands to have a better look at the bruises.

“This must be hurting… let’s have a doctor take a look at that soon, okay?”

“Don’t worry about me! It’s nothing, really.”

Yeah, you knew you didn’t have to worry for that kid. He was strong. The door opened and Seto entered the dining room.

“Big brother!”

Mokuba beamed and got up to greet his brother. And then something happened. Something unexpected. Something rare. Seto smiled.

You had liked his annoyed face and admired his furious eyes. But that smile was something else. A real smile. It lasted only a few seconds, but it had devastating effects. It felt like a tidal wave, destroying every walls and barriers you had and flooding your heart with an unprecedented yearning. The world stopped around you for a brief moment, and you knew.

You knew you wanted him to smile at you the same way he had smiled to his little brother.

You knew... you had fallen in love with Seto Kaiba.

You fell silent as he took a seat at the table, blushing, looking at your plate for avoiding eye contact. It was a good thing Mokuba was there for keeping the conversation going. You could feel Seto’s eyes glancing at you from time to time. You finally decided you needed some fresh air, and got up.

“Wait.”

Seto’s voice stopped you on the door step. You looked him over your shoulder.

“You and I have things to discuss. I’ll talk to you… later.”

You nodded and got out, unsure if you should feel worried or excited by that prospect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm just hungry whenever I find time to write this and it is mirrored in the story. Next time, I'll try to eat before. Thanks for reading, leave kudos or comments if you like!


	6. Overtime

You walked for a good two hours, trying to clear your mind. Lots had happened in the last four days, and it was good to just walk without purpose, and without having to fear someone pointing a gun at you at every corner. When you got back, feeling a bit refreshed, the maid came to meet you.

“Mrs., master Seto is waiting in the home office. He wants to speak with you.”

“He’s working? Then I’ll wait until later, that’s what he—”

“I’m afraid not, he said to send you in as soon as you got back.”

You sighed. You thought you could avoid it a bit longer, but guess not. You felt it was going to be an awkward conversation. You didn’t know what to anticipate. You walked reluctantly to his working room, and softly knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

You pushed the door. It was your first time in this room. It was quite boring, actually: you had expected it to be filled with computers, but it was just an awful green room with a TV on the wall, an equally awful sofa in front of a low table, a large bookshelf, and finally a desk. Gosh, the taste of these brothers. Even the ceiling was painted green. You made a mental note to hire professionals for updating the interior design of the whole manor.

Seto was sitting at the desk, tons of papers spilled all over, typing relentlessly on his laptop. You weren’t sure what to do, but decided you could sit without waiting for his permission. You took place on the sofa and waited, looking at the TV showing news on mute. Finally, you heard the laptop being closed, some papers being put into piles, and the TV shut off. You turned your head towards Seto, and faced his intense blue eyes looking at you silently. It was quite intimidating, and you weren’t sure if he was doing it on purpose or if it was just his normal poker face. It was hard to tell his true thoughts; with that perpetually frowning face, one would always assume he was angry. And probably be right. You cleared your throat.

“You… wanted to see me?”

Still silence. That was unnerving. He finally sighed and folded his hands under his chin.

“I suppose thanks are in order.”

Your eyes widened. Seto Kaiba expressing gratitude? That was a first. You let out an imperceptible sigh of relief.

“Huh… I didn’t really… do anything.”

“Mokuba just won’t shut up about you, so I guess you did enough. I won’t be saying it twice, so just take it when it’s handed to you.”

“…thanks, I guess.”

He got up and turned his back on you, looking out the window.

“Kaiba Corporation is in bad shape”, he said whilst continuing looking out the window. “We’ll have to work hard to build back our reputation. Restore relations with investors. Develop new products. It’ll be busy, expect long hours for the weeks to come.”

“I’m sure you will get through. Being busy is practically your middle name.”

“Not just me. You too as well.”

“W… what?”

“I want you to hire new staff for the mansion. Many have quitted during my absence, others are traitors, so keep the loyal ones and make sure you run a double security check on the new ones.”

“W… wait, but… why me?”

Seto turned to face you, with a mocking smirk.

“You’re the mistress of this home, aren’t you? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to take care of? Your duty… as my wife.”

You froze, speechless. He continued.

“We’ll have to throw some boring parties here to make new contacts and partnerships, and re-establish confidence amongst the stockholders. As you can probably guess by now, PR is not my forte, so you’ll be in charge of these social events. You’ll need staff to attend to the guests, so hire in consequence. I’ll leave it to you.”

You were a bit overwhelmed by that sudden trust. It seemed he had finally decided to make use of his wife. Not that he had much choice, given the lack of staff right now. That was putting a lot of faith in you, but you decided you’d not fail him and be worthy of the Kaiba name. You nodded energetically and got up.

“And one last thing…”

He walked over to the table, leaned on the desk and crossed his arms.

“In order to facilitate your work here, I think you should move.”

“Ah, yeah, I understand…”, you answered a bit disappointedly. “I guess it would be easier to take care of all those house chores from a room closer to the staff quarters. I’ll… pack my things.”

“That’s not what I meant. If you want the staff to duly respect you, and be acknowledged by our investors, it will have to be clear to everyone that you are Mrs. Kaiba. I was thinking you should move in… my room.”

You were too stunned to say anything. Your eyes just widened and your face must have become completely red. He averted his eyes and – was that a hint of a blush on his cheeks? He snorted.

“Tch, don’t get any wrong ideas. It’s just for keeping up appearances. Now if you please… I need to go back to work.”

He sat back at his desk and opened his laptop again, without looking at you anymore. You just walked mechanically out of the room, mind blank. You could feel the flames on your cheeks. From now on, you’d be sleeping in the same bed as Seto Kaiba. You decided to ignore that fact and to concentrate on your other tasks. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted. You’ll have time to worry about this later… tonight.

You spent the rest of the day contacting agencies for hiring staff. Fortunately, you had some help from Mokuba’s governess, who recommended good places to search. After spending so many months cloistered in the mansion, you also had a pretty good idea of what needed to be done and who needed to be hired. And after all that happened recently, you decided the priority was finding a new bodyguard for Seto and Mokuba. A loyal one.

Saruwatari had been the head of the guards, and he had hired most of them in the last year. You suspected all traitors, and had them fired. You then contacted KaibaCorp’s HR department to get your hands on all the resumes that were received and rejected by Saruwatari. There should be some good potential in the already existing database. One guy caught your attention. His record was interesting and quite impressive. Army pilot, major in business administration, close-combat experience, honorable discharge. If Saruwatari had not wanted this guy, it was clearly because he would have been a danger against him. You wanted to meet him and called him immediately. In less than an hour, he was standing in front of you, and made such a great impression, that you hired him at once. Mr. Isono became your new chief of staff.

At the end of the day, you were exhausted of just listing all the things that needed to be done. You went back to your room, hoping to get some well-deserved shut-eye, but when you pushed the door, your room was empty. It took you a full minute to remember your conversation with Seto from earlier this morning. Oh yeah. Your room had been moved. To his.

You turned around to face the door to your new room, across the hallway. Your heart was beating fast. You turned the knob and entered, but found no one inside. You were alone, and it was a real relief to you. Sure, you had started to develop feelings toward your husband, which was certainly a good thing, but you weren’t ready for… any of that. Besides, from Seto’s point of view, you were just there to keep things in order at the mansion. How had he called you? A convenient inconvenience, was it? So surely he would not be trying to pull any dirty tricks on you. Still… it felt awkward to share his bed. You hurried into your pajamas and got into the bed, at one extremity. At least, it was a king size. You closed your eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come. This was too stressful.

Around one o’clock, the door opened, and Seto entered the room. You were still awake, but turned your back so you wouldn’t face him. You heard him get undressed, put on his night clothes and get into bed at the other extremity. You kept looking at the wall and asked shyly.

“So… how was your day?”

“Don’t. Do. That. Just get to sleep. Good night.”

“…good night.”

And just like that, he fell asleep, without a care in the world, leaving you stressed out about sharing a bed with a man for the first time in your life. You finally fell asleep too, out of fatigue. When you woke up the next morning, you were alone in the bed; Seto was already gone to work. You wondered if all the nights would be like that, and was kinda surprised at the hint of disappointment in that thought.

The next weeks went by very well. Isono was great at his job, and Seto and Mokuba had adopted him real quick. You’d never thought things would get back on track so fast. You still took meals with Mokuba most of the time, but Seto was almost always out to the office. Your conversations with him seemed more like daily reports. You took the habit of reading a book before going to sleep, waiting for him to get back from work, and briefed him as he was getting into bed. He’d complain a bit about his day. It actually started to feel like you were a very old couple.

Soon it was time for the first partners’ party thrown at the Kaiba manor. You took this really seriously: you studied all you could about every guest, learned some phrases in different languages, had personalized gifts for everyone, and swore to be the best party hostess. As you were revising seating places with Mokuba, Seto peaked above your shoulder to take a look.

“Don’t forget”, he said, “that the governor of Bavaria likes red—”

“—red wine from Australia, yes, I know, I read the file”, you answered, a bit annoyed. “If you want to micromanage everything I do, why don’t you do it yourself!”

“Easy, easy, don’t bite… wifey.”

“Ugh, I liked you better when you were in a coma.”

“I bet you did.”

Seto chuckled and walked away to take care of other business. You turned around to keep working with Mokuba, but he was looking at you with wide eyes and an incredulous smirk.

“I’ve never seen that before.”

“Seen what?”

“You know, I think… my brother likes you pretty much.”

“Don’t be silly! He just likes that I’m his cheapest employee. Now, let’s get back to preparations. Concentrate!”, you ordered, hoping he didn’t notice red coloring your cheeks.

The night of the party had arrived. Mokuba’s governess helped you with your dress and hair, because it really wasn’t your thing. You felt a bit awkward in this splendid blue dress, with your fancy hairstyling, but you liked what you saw in the mirror. It was very classy. The maid smiled.

“It suits you very well, madam. I’m sure master Seto will like it very much.”

Your face flushed and she gently chuckled at your embarrassment. You left her to check on the last-minute preparations, and found Seto in the hall, struggling with his tie. You sighed.

“Here, let me help you with that”, you said while taking his hands off the tie.

He didn’t move and let you make the knot. You felt his eyes on you.

“Are you feeling nervous? It’s the first time I see you defeated by a necktie”, you said as your hands got busy.

“Mmh… I hate to admit it, but a lot depends on that party. Even if I dislike those events, it’s our chance to build some good new relationships. We have to make sure this soirée is a success, no matter what.”

“Here you go, ready to party!”

You tapped his shoulders and smiled to him, but immediately was self-conscious of his proximity when your eyes crossed. You both cleared your throat and walked separate ways. You heard a laugh and turned your head; Mokuba was sitting in the stairs.

“My, my”, he said with a mischievous grin, “you really looked like a little couple of newlyweds back there! You wouldn’t be starting to take your role seriously, by any chance?”

“Oh, shut it”, you replied with an irritated tone, unable to ignore the poundings in your chest.

Guests started to arrive, and you made sure the staff understood their tasks. Fortunately, you could rely on Isono for running things smoothly, while you could concentrate on the guests. It was the first time you’d be formally introduced as Seto’s wife; you couldn’t mess this up.

The evening was going great. Mokuba was like a fish in water; public relations were clearly his element. His social skills were amazing and he talked on equal footing with officials from foreign countries. It was easy to forget he was just a kid. You turned to Seto and was almost shocked. He was actually good at this. Although he had said he hated social events, he was out there talking to everyone, shaking hands, exposing ideas for the future of KaibaCorp. He even made a little speech, and it was very inspiring. He was full of surprises, and you found yourself being glad he was your husband.

You went to the table where the governor of Bavaria was sitting, and introduced yourself.

“Guten Abend, Herr Fravz, Ich freue mich, Sie kennenzulernen.”

“Oh, Frau Kaiba! This party is wunderbar! And this wine is delicious!”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”

“Could I invite you for a dance?”

No thanks, was what you wanted to answer. The man wasn’t exactly classy, and gave off a creepy vibe. But you put up your best smile and agreed cheerfully, as he took your hand and dragged you to the dancefloor. Soft music was playing, and you tried not to look disgusted when he put one hand around your waist. He kept talking about his business, and you laughed politely at his insignificant jokes. Ugh, you understood why Seto hated those events. He pulled you a bit closer and whispered in your ear.

“I might have a good proposition for Kaiba Corporation that you would be interested into. It could make KaibaCorp’s stock value double, but it’s extremely delicate to talk in public… Meet me upstairs in one hour.”

You looked at him, disconcerted, but at this moment, someone tapped lightly on his shoulder.

“Herr Fravz, would you mind if I could have the next dance with my wife?”

“Herr Kaiba! I was just telling your wife how wonderful this evening is. Of course, of course! I’ll leave you two alone.”

He let go of you with a wink, and Seto took his place.

“You looked like you needed help to get out of there”, he said with a mocking grin.

After the greasy palms of that old man, Seto’s touch felt like heaven. You had thought you didn’t like dancing, but if it was with Seto… You knew you should have told him the weird proposition of Herr Fravz, but you didn’t want to spoil the moment.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself. For a guy who said PR is not his forte, you are scary good at this. It’s almost alarming to see you smile so much.”

“Oh, shut it. As the CEO, I have to put up the act.”

“I didn’t know you could dance.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

“Yet.”

He snorted and didn’t answer back. The song ended and you reluctantly let go of him, and both of you went back to your host duties.

One hour later, you went upstairs, looking for Mr. Fravz. This top-secret arrangement intrigued you, and even if you knew you could not entirely trust this man, you had to inquire. Seto had said that everything had to be done to get KaibaCorp back on track, no matter what.

“Herr Fravz?”

“In here, Frau Kaiba. Close the door behind you.”

You entered a guest room. The man was looking out the window.

“Now, I am a man of business and of authority amidst the German government. I am a very powerful man, you know, and I can make a great difference for Kaiba Corporation with foreign investments.”

“Perhaps you’d better talk business with my husband, I’m afraid I am not qualified to—”

“Oh, nein, this is a matter only you can settle, and I’d rather Herr Kaiba to not know about this”, he said while turning to face you.

The creepy smile on his face gave you goosebumps. He sat on the bed.

“I’ve written my proposals on the memo on the desk. KaibaCorp is in very bad shape. You are sehr schön, Frau Kaiba. Please have a look at it and consider what you are ready to do to ensure your husband’s success.”

You were disgusted. What this man was implying was… you took the memo and read it. It listed a series of… degrading acts, followed by numbers; prices. Investment money in exchange of... favors. You had nausea. This man was a gross pervert, and he was expecting you to play along? You crumpled the paper in your hand. KaibaCorp’s success. You walked to the bed. No matter what. You faced the man and his repulsive smile. No matter what.

You slapped him with all your strength.

“What do you think I am!?”, you yelled at him, inflamed from embarrassment. “KaibaCorp doesn’t need the likes of you to ensure its success! You deserve a place in jail, or at the bottom of a lake!”

You walked away, furious. He got up as you were opening the door, and grabbed your arm.

“Come back here, you little schlampe!”

You turned around and punched him right on the nose. He fell on the ground and you got out of the room. Seto was coming up the stairs, looking for you, and saw your flushed face.

“What’s going on here?”

“I’m afraid Mr. Fravz here lost his way trying to find the exit”, you spit, enraged, and left hastily without a word.

Seto looked at the man, bleeding from his nose, ignored him and went after you.

You entered your bedroom and sat on the bed, body trembling in shock. This had been so humiliating. You could feel tears of frustration stinging your eyes. The door opened and you gasped, but was relieved as Seto entered the room with an inquisitive look. He sat by your side.

“What happened?”

“Seto… I’m sorry… I might have put KaibaCorp in a bad spot, but… but I just couldn’t…”

You looked the other way and gave him the creased paper still in your hand. He took it, made a disgusted snort, and put it on the table. He put his hands on your shoulders and made you face him.

“No other man is allowed to lay his hands on you.”

“No other…”

He abruptly pulled closer and gave you an ardent kiss. It took you by surprise, but felt so warm, so good, you closed your eyes and kissed back. He ended the kiss as brusquely as he had initiated it, pushing you back by the shoulders, leaving you breathless and feverish. His deep blue eyes looked right in yours, and his breath accelerated imperceptibly. At your surprise, he took out his phone and called someone.

“Isono… it’s me. My wife is not feeling well, I’ll attend to her. I’m leaving the rest to you.”

He turned his phone off and put it on the table, then turned back to you.

“Are you… sure you want to leave the party unattended? You worked so hard…”

“The night was a success. At this hour, there is no more business talk, it’s just drunk men availing on the open bar. Mokuba’s gone to bed two hours ago. Isono will make sure everyone receives their gifts. There’s nothing to worry about anymore.” He tucked your hair behind your ear. “So… did you really punch the governor of Bavaria back there?”

He asked that with a proud smile. You couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I hope your wife didn’t put you in too much trouble. Just burn that paper, I don’t want to set my sight on it ever again.”

“Are you crazy? This is the kind of memo that can be used for blackmailing in the future. It could be useful. One never knows…”

He had a mischievous smile. He was a real devil. A handsome devil.

“Seto…”

You took his hand and put it on your heart. His face flushed in surprise.

“I don’t want… any other man… touching me. I just want… you.”

His eyes felt hesitant, but when you leaned to kiss him, he pulled you closer and kissed you back. His hands stroke your arms, your back, your hair. The kisses became hotter and hotter. He gently toppled you over on the bed.

“Don’t say things like that… I might not be able to hold off.”

“Don’t.”

It was your first time, both of you. It was a bit clumsy, but felt amazing. Having Seto in your arms, seeing his coy face, feeling his hands over your body, feeling his body inside yours. All that felt amazing. As you fell asleep in his arms, you were reminded of all the events that led to this moment, and was especially grateful to the Blue-Eyes card, that had brought you together with this man you had learned to love. Your husband. Seto Kaiba.

– The End –

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everybody! This is my gift to you guys (probably more girls), thanks for reading. It's been quite a lot of fun writing this story. I don't want to fall into cheesy destiny stuff so I'm gonna stop here. I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks a lot and if you liked it, check out my other fics :)


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